A Sister to Every Skip
by Nicolle
Summary: A normal day of training for MTF Omega-7 is interrupted by a mission involving naked cultists, [REDACTED], and Juliette Gordon Low. And the GOC is already onsite. At least Able is wearing a shirt today.


A Sister to Every Skip  
By Nicolle

Disclaimer: The SCP universe is a community endeavor, and in keeping with that, this is a creative commons work. I am not a member of the SCP community, and this is a one off, so it will not appear on the scp wiki or be entered as a tale.

A/N: This is, first and foremost, a LOL!Foundation crack fic. No character is going to be 'in character.' This story is the end result of wanting to write something in a Cantero style while I was on a SCP kick. Omega-7 lends itself posthumously to the kind of self referential humor I had fun with while writing 'This Army Life.'

I couldn't find any names associated with MTF Theta-4, and there aren't any tales associated with the group, hence everyone being unnamed. 'Roth' was pulled from a random name generator and, unlike many of my other fics, isn't a call back to some other fandom.

So without further ado...

A Sister to Every Skip

Noah Chase and Iris Thompson both looked up as Beatrix Maddox trudged into the very small, tinie-tiny kitchen the entirety of Mobile Task Force Omega-7 shared when forced to hang out at Area 25 between missions. It was so small it didn't even have the right to call itself a 'galley kitchen,' and everyone was sure that the Foundation had used some SCP or other to alter the dimensions of the room just enough to fit a two seater table. A two seater table that, by the way, could only fit two people provided that Iris, having the physique of a stick figure, was one of the two seated.

Beats trying to force her way to the fridge while two people occupied the table was an impossible task, but it was either that or eat in the cafeteria. And you only ate in the cafeteria when you wanted a permanent way out of the Foundation.

Noah groaned, trying to shove himself into the wall, and maybe through it, so as not to be face to ass with Beatrix. Not that he minded being face to ass with her. She had a nice ass. He just didn't want to be smothered in the only kitchen he could get a decent meal from while on base. "What's wrong, Beats?"

Beatrix managed to get the fridge door open just enough to grab a protein shake. "Well, I woke up this morning and walked straight through a closed door, so I'd say a lot is wrong."

Iris watched her bowl of cereal suspiciously. "It's something some researcher in R&D is working on."

Beatrix shimmied her way back to the door. "How did you get cleared to know that?"

Iris noticed one of the brightly colored marshmallows in her cereal had grown itty-bitty arms and legs and was swimming in the milk. "I was cleared when he walked through the wall of my bathroom." She pushed the bowl away, sighing. "While I was taking a shower."

Noah whistled and Iris gripped her spoon tightly, eyes narrowing.

Beatrix pulled the spoon out of Iris' hand. "I'd be careful if I were you. She's top of the leaderboard for thrown weapons right now. Speaking of which, it's time for us all to be on the training floor."

"Yeah, but Iris won't kill me."

Beatrix raised an eyebrow. "Be late to the training floor and Able might."

Noah sighed. "Yeah, yeah."

As always, Able ben Adamah, oh-fucking-seventy-six, was waiting for them, tapping his foot impatiently. At least he was dressed today in regulation olive green cargo pants and black tank. The task force, as a whole, had really had enough of daily doses of rock hard abs the likes of which you only saw in photoshopped calendars of hot guys. "For being late, you're all running an extra five miles this morning."

"We aren't late," Iris grumbled. "You're just here early, Able. Learn to sleep in on occasion."

"Ten miles for the back talk. And I value promptness from my team."

Agent Squire, Able's second in command, came up to the running line, rolling his shoulders. "Do you even sleep?"

"I don't need to, but I enjoy dreaming. It's like a massage for my brain after dealing with the lot of you everyday." He looked down the line, a wicked gleam lighting his eyes as a smile curled his lips. "Have you all completed your homework assignments?"

Everyone cringed with the exception of Iris, who sat down on the lowest seat of the bleachers that surrounded the indoor, olympic-sized track.

Adrian Andrews shuddered. "I can still hear the cat screaming."

Beatrix gave his shoulder a comforting pat, but remained mum on any indication of what Able might have been having her do in her off hours.

Able looked to Iris and she flipped him off.

Able nodded. "Good. Get started on your laps. Those fifteen miles aren't going to run themselves."

Agent Evans, the current newbie, huffed from the back of the group. "Oh come on! Why doesn't 105 have to run? She's the one who bitched. Or is this another episode of Skips giving other Skips hard passes?"

The rest of Pandora's Box gave out various snorts before full on laughter echoed off the walls of the training floor.

Able huffed and it came out as a sigh as he rubbed his temples. "Iris. Line up with everyone else and demonstrate why you don't have to train with the rest of the team."

Iris stood up. "Fine." She hopped from the bleachers and came up next to Able, glaring up at him with a frown. "But I'm off tomorrow then. I did ten miles this morning and it was leg day." She turned to Evans. "Four laps around the track is a mile and fifteen miles is 60 laps. See you slow pokes at the finish line."

One hundred and fifty minutes later, Iris stretched before sitting down and waving at everyone else as they kept running.

Evans blinked as he ran by. "Did 105 really just outpace us that hardcore?"

"Yes." Squire said as he came by. "And it's Agent Thompson to you."

Able whacked at Evans with a stick for lagging. "Keep running."

Noah waved as he came around. "Wow! You're on fire today!"

Iris stretched out her legs. "Thanks. Other versions of me lettered in track. You know, the ones who get to go to school and have an actual education as opposed to the Foundation's 'enrichment.'"

Noah grimaced and slowed to a stop. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I don't remember my childhood."

"Oh yeah. You're part of the group that was amnestized so you couldn't have 'feelings' about your past. Like that's a totally healthy thing."

Adrian picked up the pace, mostly to stay as far ahead of Able as possible, and came to a stop in front of Iris, huffing for a bit. "So what is your nightly homework? You aren't as messed up as the rest of us, so it can't be dissecting something while still alive."

"Nope."

Abel came around the track, stopping next to Adrian. "Iris has far more determination than the rest of you. Just as I can lead a horse to water and cannot make it drink. I can lead Iris to a knife, but I can't make her kill a D-Class."

Iris nodded. "I stabbed Able in the face."

"That was an option?!"

Abel nodded. "I'm very proud of her."

Adrian looked at her. "How are you not dead?"

Iris shrugged. "Skips giving other Skips hard passes."

Noah eyed Able. "So how are you training Iris to kill?"

Able inclined his head toward the teen. "Iris?"

Iris opened her backpack and pulled out her knitting to demonstrate, making a stitch. "Stab it. Choke it. Rip it's guts out. Throw it off a cliff."

"Very good." Abel lifted his stick, swatting it against the other hand with a loud crack for emphasis. "The rest of you still have ten more laps."

Noah and Adrian took off down the track, Abel hot on their tails.

Iris put the knitting away just as Dr. G[][][][][][] entered the training floor with several people in US military dress uniforms.

"Suit up, people. An anomaly has appeared in New York and someone tipped off the GOC, so you've got to move fast. Take your coats. It's a cold November on the Eastern seaboard."

A short flight and two hours of bumpy riding over back roads with potholes the size of small swimming holes in two unmarked vans later saw Omega-7 deployed in a deciduous forest in the middle of nowhere, New York state, at the outskirts of a decommissioned Girl Scout camp. The camp surrounded a multi-acre, man-made lake filled with the very loud croaking of hundreds of native toads that didn't seem to mind the growing cold. Adrian made a mental note to check the toads for anomalous qualities. An unpaved parking lot up the side of the hill next to the dam that held the lake water secure, already had a mobile command center set up. MTF Theta-4 was in the command center, waiting for the back up.

Beatrix looked at the assembled. "Gardners? So this is a plant thing?"

Captain Roth shook her head. "We thought it was to start, but when the GOC showed up and started sectioning off parts of the camp, we realized that it was something else entirely." She pointed to the map on the table and a campground arranged around a lake. "The main section of the camp surrounds the lake in a massive, perfect circle and is made up of three lodges, two bath houses, five campsites with cabins, tabins, and a-frames. The camp goes off into the woods beyond the cabins on the far side of the lake with another bath house, ropes courses, lean-tos, three primitive sites, and the ranger's house. The GOC is concentrated around the group of cabins on the far side of the lake."

"Best approach for recon?"

The Captain pointed to the map, running her finger along a marked path that wove around several tabin and a-frame sites. "Taking the trail around the lake here."

Able nodded to Iris. "You're up."

"On it."

The Captain blinked, suddenly noticing the fifteen year old. "What is a child doing here?!"

Squire frowned. "She's a Skip and a capable field agent."

"She's still a child!"

Able folded his arms over his chest. "And yet she smells of blood."

Iris' rolled her eyes. "That's just Shark Week."

Able raised an eyebrow. "It is still a sign of maturity."

Noah frowned. "Shark Week…? Oooooh. So is that why you were so bitchy this morning?"

Beatrix tapped Noah on the shoulder. He turned to her and got a fist square in the face. He hit the floor with a groan.

Iris zipped up her jacket and adjusted her camera. "Thanks, Beats."

Able nodded appreciatively. "Very Good. I should move you to my team."

Beatrix frowned sourly. "Fuck you, Monster. You killed two of my best friends the containment breach before some idiot thought it was a good idea to turn you into an MTF lead."

Able shrugged. "Fair enough." He turned to Team Able. "We'll make a perimeter and await Team Iris' signal to move in."

Beatrix, Adrian, and the rest of Team Iris followed the teen as she crept through the forest, coming up on the group of cabins. All of the cabins were raised up on stilts to keep from being flooded should the nearby lake overflow. Iris turned off the flash on her camera and took several photos, thankful for the loud croaking of the toads covering the whirl of the mechanism as it spit out several Polaroids. After handing Adrian a photo of herself, she broke away from the group. Slipping around a distracted GOC guard, Iris hit the dirt and crawled up underneath the cabin the GOC was centered around: cabin three.

Adrian and Beatrix watched the photo move as Iris began searching for a place through which to take photos of the cabin interior. Not finding one, she bagged the camera and started listening.

"We have to move this thing before the Foundation shows up."

"How? We don't have the equipment to move an entire cabin."

"We don't have to move the cabin. We just have to figure out how to get the thing hiding under the cabin to come out."

Lots of green, tentacle-like vines came up around her. "Oh no." She pulled out a piece of paper and a black marker and quickly wrote on a piece of paper, before holding it up over her face.

In the photo Adrian held, he and Beatrix read the message:

_I'm sitting on top of the anomaly. Somebody tell Able to kill all the GOC members so I can get out of here before it eats me._

Beatrix hit her comm. "Move in. Avoid cabin three."

Squire's voice came over the comm. "Moving in. Is Iris in cabin three?"

"She's under it and next to the anomaly."

That strange sound of reality tearing apart that accompanied Able's particular power came over the comm before it went silent. Team Iris spread out and rushed toward the cabins, taking out GOC members as they went.

Under the cabin, the vines formed into a female child with green skin wearing a very old Girl Scout uniform. It gasped and smiled to see Iris.

"A senior scout!" It jumped into Iris' arms, hugging her tightly. "I knew if I waited long enough, everyone would come back!"

Iris caught the thing and held it while the area around them lit up with gunfire. "Are you a scout?"

The thing nodded happily, green hair like vines bouncing, oblivious to the danger around it.

"How did you get here?"

"I was here for summer camp when I saw this HUGE deer in the woods. It had this crazy rack of antlers with shiny ornaments hanging from the tines. It said it would grant me one wish and I wished that I could always be at camp!" The thing's expression darkened. "But then… people stopped coming to camp."

The firefight died and the world suddenly went quiet. Iris felt a hand hook the back of her collar and pull her out from under the cabin. She let go of the anomaly and fell backward. Hitting the ground hard, she looked up at what she expected to be Able and instead found the business end of a rifle in her face.

The rifle came away as a GOC operative grabbed her by the front of her jacket and pulled her to her feet. "A kid? You've got to be fuckin' kidding me. What the hell are you doing here?!"

A second guard came around, gun still up. "That's not a kid. It's a Katie. KTE-11971-Green Ember."

The first guard's rifle came back up. "Put a bullet in her?"

"Negative. Her abilities are listed as a potential asset and she's a trained field agent. Take her into custody before the rest of her Task Force can get to her." The second guard used the rifle to prod Iris in the back and move her. "Follow me."

The first guard frowned as he went around Iris, taking her six and walking her out of the line of cabins toward the back of the camp. "You aren't scared at all. Not bad for a kid."

Iris watched as green vines came up around the three of them as they stepped past the last cabin in the line. "I'd be more scared if you weren't both wearing relaxed fit Dockers."

The vines wrapped around both men and dragged them into the ground with the blood chilling sound of bones crunching and flesh tearing. Iris flinched as she was sprayed with blood and then groaned, shaking the heavier bits off. "Well, there goes my chance to defect."

The thing looked out from under cabin three. "Are you okay?"

Iris smiled. "Yes." She ran back over and held out a hand only to hit the ground when a bullet whizzed past her head. She rolled back under the cabin and pulled out her gun, watching the area for GOC members.

The thing gasped. "You're not going to kill anyone are you?"

Iris shook off the urge to point out that the girl had just brutally slaughtered two full grown men. "I'm not big on taking out people." Iris smiled. "Kneecaps, on the other hand, are fair game."

She aimed carefully as six GOC operatives came toward them, easily hitting her marks with each bullet fired. As men hit the ground, the other members of the strike team stayed back, taking cover.

"Iris Thompson! Put the gun down and come out with your hands up. The rest of your team is dead. You can come with us quietly or be terminated here."

Iris pulled a bunch of polaroids out of her pocket, and watched as the images moved. There were only three GOC operatives looking to take her in. She didn't see her team in the rest of the photos but she didn't see any other GOC members either.

"I've got enough bullets for the three of you!"

"You sure about that, Thompson? You have to ask yourself, did you shoot 6 times or 8? How many bullets do you actually have?"

Iris popped the magazine and looked before popping it back in. "I have four bullets. There are three of you. And if your guys bleeding out aren't an indication, I am a really good shot. And now's a good time to mention that I have plenty more ammo."

The three rushed her and all three went down from head shots. Iris crossed her fingers in the hopes that whoever killed them was on her side. Or, at least, not willing to kill her straight away.

Beatrix came out of nowhere and offered Iris a hand. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah." Iris looked back. The thing was gone. "I don't know where the anomaly went but it can grab people and just suck them into the ground." She grimaced. "It's not great to watch. Where is everyone?"

"There are a whole lot more GOC out here than we first thought. They're using rapid response teleportation to get around us. One guy even has Able tied up."

Iris' jaw dropped. "No way!"

Beatrix nodded. "Oh yeah. Let's go stop the guy before our resident killing machine is mush and we have to wait until he reconstitutes."

"Stop him?" Iris sputtered. "I want to make him a fan club! Build him a website!"

Beatriz pulled her along. "Mission first. Hating on Able later."

They got to the action just in time to see Able take the head off the operative who had held up for so long. Members of Theta-4 spread out and secured the area, cleaning up the mess Iris and Beatrix had left behind.

Abel hugged Iris, lifting and swinging her. "You're covered in blood! You took your first life! I'm so proud!"

"I didn't kill anyone. I was just in the anomaly's splash zone."

Able dropped her with a disappointed huff. "Never mind."

Adrian helped Iris up off the ground. "Where's the anomaly?"

"That's a good question. I don't know. It disappeared right before Beats got to me. It said it was a Girl Scout when the camp was still running. It said it ran into a mythical sounding deer in the woods that granted it a wish and now it's a weird plant thing.

Squire hummed thoughtfully. "Do you think the girl ran into SCP-2845?"

Adrian shook his head. "2845 made landfall in California, not New York. And it's not something that grants wishes."

"So we potentially have two anomalies out here?"

Iris frowned. "Unless it was lying."

Noah pulled out the betting wallet. "Taking all bets. No generalizations; specifics only."

Beatrix pulled out a ten. "Girl Scout was anomalous to start and a self stunted reality bender."

Adrian nodded. "Nice."

Captain Roth pulled out a ten. "Studio Ghibli style forest god actually granted a Girl Scout's wish."

Another member of Theta-4 threw in. "Girl Scout was infected by a cognito hazard by an eco terrorist group who was attempting to protect the forest."

Noah looked around. "Anyone else?"

Able held up a hand while he and Iris whispered together, the two exchanging cash.

After a moment, Iris nodded and handed Noah two tens. "Juliette Gordon Low was previously a member of 05 Command and all Girl Scout camps are built to contain ancient evils once fought by Native Americans. And the containment at this camp is weakened because Girl Scouts isn't about scouting anymore and therefore not maintaining containment by selling off camps to fund retirement pensions. So now there's a cult looking to set the ancient evil free. And the cult activity is why the GOC is here in the first place."

Everyone stared at the Skips.

Noah put the money in the betting wallet. "Well. Let's hope it's not the last one, because the United States is littered with decommissioned Girl Scout camps."

Squire elbowed him. "How do you know that?"

"My sister is part of a non-profit looking to buy the old camps and keep them running."

Iris folded her arms over her chest. "I thought you said you didn't remember your childhood."

"I don't. But my sister is my twin and specifically the 'evil twin.' They don't make amnestics strong enough for you to forget that."

Adrian made for cabin three. "Let's see if the GOC left us any information."

The wooden cabin was platformed a good two feet off the ground and stained a dark black-brown from years of exposure to the elements. A lovely wooden heart hung next to the door with the number three and the words 'Lily Pad' painted on it in a child's script. Inside was four sets of brightly painted bunkbeds arranged around a picnic table in the middle. Coalition equipment was set up all over the cabin with two reality anchors ready at either end of the cabin. Three dead, naked, adults were piled on one of the bunks, their bodies covered in the kind of symbols that made Able's esoteric tattoo work look normal.

Beatrix looked up at the cabin's overhead light. "The light's on."

Squire frowned. "So?"

"So who's paying the electric bill? This place is supposed to be decommissioned. If the lights are on, someone is still here. There might be civilians on premise besides the dead cult members."

Captain Roth turned to her team. "Someone get on the horn to command. We need to know who owns this place."

Adrian rifled through the GOC papers on the table. "The camp was once the site of an ancient Oneida village. The lake outside is man made and covers where the original village was located. According to the GOC's intelligence, a family of Stone Coats, an ancient evil race of cannibal giants covered in stone scales, was trapped underneath the original village. When the village was abandoned, the Stone Coats escaped. A joint GOC-Foundation effort locked them back in their prison. The man made lake and the placement of the cabins and trails around the lake are designed as a mystical lock on the entire containment area."

Captain Roth leaned over the table, looking at the papers. "But the prison requires the presence of people using the camp to keep it locked, right?"

"Right."

Iris raised her hand. "That doesn't explain the Girl Scout with the plant powers."

Captain Roth's eyebrows went up. "Maybe it does. What if the Stone Coats are a cursed version of SCP 1000? We've seen examples of that in Washington state. And what if plant girl ran into a remnant piece of organic tech left behind after the fall of 1000's civilization?"

Noah whistled low. "Want to change your bet?"

The Captain shook her head. "Nah. That wouldn't be cool. And right now, Iris and Able have the lead."

Squire used his rifle to indicate one of the bodies on the bunk. "So what's with the dead guys?"

Adrian started gathering up the papers. "That's how the GOC knew something was up. Cultists. I just don't understand why they have records of Foundation involvement here, but we came in blind."

Able groaned, rubbing his temples to fight the buzzing in his head. "Do you really need to have it spelled out for you, Adrian? What happens when your precious Foundation loses control over something or some plan goes completely awry?" He looked up, sweeping his hand across the room. "They sweep it under the rug and pretend that it never happened."

Iris looked at him. "Kind of like what will happen to Omega 7 when it finally goes belly up."

Adrian frowned. "Why do you assume our team is going to go down in flames?"

Iris held out both hands, presenting Able like he was a new refrigerator on the Price is Right™.

Beatrix nodded. "She's not wrong."

Captain Roth sighed. "The other task forces joke that Omega-7 is permanent 'keter duty.'"

Able impatiently pointed to the papers Adrian held. "What is our plan, Scholar?"

"We'll split up. Omega-7 will make sure the seal on the Stone Coats is secure. Theta-4 will go looking for the Girl Scout. Since the anomaly seems to like you, Iris, go with the Gardeners."

Captain Roth nodded. "Is Iris a flight risk?"

Iris rolled her eyes. "We're in the middle of the woods. I literally have nowhere to run. If I disappear suddenly, just assume the anomaly is eating me and I need rescue." Iris handed Captain Roth a selfie. "Here. If I disappear, this photo will tell you where I am."

The teams split up with Omega 7 spreading across the camp to check all the buildings around the lake and the trails between them while Theta 4 started their investigation under cabin three.

"Did you get a photo of the anomaly while you were under here?" one of the Gardeners asked.

Iris shook her head. "No. Sorry."

He gave her a quick smile. "No worries. We've got some tricks up our sleeves, including a couple of pieces of the organic tech from the SCP 1000 civilization." He pulled out a small box and opened it. Inside was a white, glowing mouse. "Hey there, little guy. We need you to track the anomaly that was under the cabin." He nodded toward Iris. "The one that isn't her."

The mouse jumped into the operative's hand and waited to be let down to the ground before running underneath the cabin. It came out a moment later and jumped back into the operative's hand. Spinning a circle on his palm, it stopped facing the trail that led deeper into the woods, away from the lake. Following the mouse's directions they walked passed a low ropes course, climbing walls, and a closed-for-winter pool that all looked to be in good shape.

Captain Roth looked around. "This place is still running. It just looks abandoned because it's November."

One of the Gardeners pointed ahead. "I see a house with lights on."

The Captain pulled out the map. "That's the ranger house. And it makes sense that someone would be here if this place is still operational. Which way is the mouse pointing?"

"Down the path toward the house. We'll need to get closer before we know if the house is it or if we should be heading further on."

The ranger's house, a long, wood lodge set into a hill so the basement was accessible just by walking down the side, was stained a bright red-gold with a long, covered porch that ran around the entire building. Large, lighted windows revealed three young children doing homework at the dining room table while a teen set the table for dinner.

A woman wearing a forest ranger's uniform came out the front door, but was looking back over her shoulder. "I'm going to go check on the Watsons. Norman said he's been having trouble with a bear coming around the house at night."

The woman turned and stopped dead when she saw the Gardeners.

"Shit! Jailers!"

The woman slammed her hand on a button hidden in the door jamb and a wall shimmering light came up around the house. The sound of several hidden turrets arming and swiveling to aim filled the trees. In the lighted windows, the children had dropped everything, running deep into the house.

"I'll be nice about this and give you enough time to explain why you're here and leave peacefully after doing so. So start talking."

Iris jumped in, "There are Stone Coats under the lake and a cult is trying to raise them!"

"Yeah. I know. That's why the Book Burners are here. To take care of it."

The Captain held up a hand. "Wait. What? Why would a member of the Serpent's Hand do that?"

"Because the GOC is under contract to handle this kind of cult activity at the camp and the Foundation would just fuck it up." A thought dawned on the woman and her arms crossed over her chest. "Let me guess: you killed them all, right?"

The Gardeners looked at each other. "Yeah…"

"In the very obvious circle made by the cabins, tabins, a-frames, and lodges."

"Uh…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Splattering human blood in the lake?"

"Yeah…"

"Way to do the cult's job for them, geniuses." She grumbled. "Fucking Jailers come in guns blazing and wonder why things always blow up in their faces." She leaned back into the doorway. "Erin! Take your siblings to the Library. Edward get the special issues. We're hunting Stone Coats."

The woman watched something from the doorway and then nodded to herself. She touched the hidden button again and the shimmering barrier between them disappeared. The sound of the hidden turrets powering down gave the Gardeners a breath of relief.

One of the Gardner's frowned. "I don't get it. I thought the Hand wanted anomalies to be free."

The woman threw up her hands. "Oh my God. Okay, listen. When you have something that's dangerous and needs to be destroyed, and if it can't be destroyed, locked away, we are all for that. But when you have something that isn't hurting anyone and should just be left alone? That's where we differ. It's why we call you Jailers. You lock people away as if their being anomalous is both a crime AND their fault."

"And you call the GOC 'Book Burners' because they destroy everything?"

A man with dark hair and dark eyes came out and handed the woman a sleek, blue-gray laser rifle that looked like it'd come off the set of a high budget sci-fi movie, hefting one of his own.

The woman flipped a switch on the gun and it hummed to life. "While it fits, the nickname comes from them having attempted to burn the Wanderer's Library."

Iris' jaw dropped. "Burn a library?! Who the heck burns a library?!"

"Exactly." The woman pulled on a bright orange vest. "We need to move fast. The Stone Coats can't swim and they're so heavy, they naturally sink and drown, hence the lake. But the ones under the lake are in a stasis. If enough deaths have broken the containment, and blood has hit the water, they'll wake up nice and hungry. And if we're completely hosed, they'll have enough oxygen and strength to knock the dam out and drain the lake."

The ground shook beneath them and everyone hit the dirt.

The woman hauled herself back to her feet. "We're doomed."

The man with her grabbed her arm. "Go with the kids." He spied Iris. "Is that a teen with you? She's a Skip, isn't she? God Dammit! What is wrong with you people? Everytime I think my employer is the worst, the Foundation always finds a way to one up it." He looked to his wife. "Go. I'd say take the girl with you, but I'll need their firepower and I won't have it if I have to kill them all to get her out."

The woman frowned, but nodded, handed him her rifle and went back into the house.

Captain Roth raised an eyebrow. "You think you can take an entire mobile task force?"

The man chuckled darkly. "Oh, you Foundation types. You never figure out that you're all D-Class to the 05 Council until just before the light in your eyes goes out." He turned his back on the group, a rifle resting on either shoulder. "Come along. We need to take out the Stone Coats before they leave the camp. There's a BSA camp about five miles from here and they have people on premises all year. And no one wants to explain to a parent why their child died on a normal, everyday camping trip."

The Captain eyed the man. "Who are you?"

"Edward King. And I'm the caretaker of Camp Wood Home. Come along."

Iris and the Gardners followed King back into the camp proper following a trail that hadn't been marked on the map, the sound of gunfire getting close. Iris pulled out a set of photos, looking for members of Omega 7. She flinched at the sightless stares of a few friends, and fought back the urge to vomit at the remains of a few people she didn't like having been torn limb from limb, but was relieved to see Beatrix and Adrian still up and fighting.

Captain Roth looked over her shoulder. "How does it look?"

"Four members of Team Iris and three members of Team Able are down. That means we still have seventeen members of O-7, including me, still up."

"Any idea as to what these things look like?"

Iris shuffled through her photos of the lake and found one. Two, eight foot tall, and two six foot tall, ape-like creatures covered in small stones like scale armor were crawling out of the water. The widest of two eight footers was on its feet, bellowing in fury as bullets rained down. The second eight footer was using its body to shield the smaller two, though it appeared as if the smaller Stone Coats had thicker, more protective scales than the eight footers. Through another photo, Iris got a different view, and shuddered at the very human quality of the faces.

One of the Gardeners looked over Iris' shoulder. "Looks like a Dad, Mom, and two kids."

"Don't humanize them," Captain Roth chided. "We need to move. There are agents down."

The forest opened up to reveal a swampy area filled with the remains of decaying lily pads. The croaking of the toads was loud and persistent despite the fighting on the other end of the lake near the man made dam. A large hole had been punched into part of it, allowing four giant sasquatch to crawl out of it. Omega-7 was lined up at an embankment just off the dam, their combined gunfire pinning the sasquatch down, but the bullets weren't doing any damage against the stone scaling that covered them.

The Captain pulled out her binoculars and watched as Able fought the biggest of the four, dodging and weaving through its haymaker punches. Any agent within grabbing range was ripped to pieces, body parts used as shields or clubs as the creatures took bites out of them. "What's our strategy?"

King looked through a pair of binoculars and grimaced. "The hole they made isn't that big. It will take a bit for the lake to drain through the hole, and it looks like they damaged the filtration system. That means the primary exit for the water is blocked. While we still have the option, we push them back into the deep end of the lake, and drown them."

Iris pointed at the near dock. "Are there any boats on this lake? Specifically motorboats? If we can rope them, we can drag them back to the deepest part of the lake and sink them."

King pointed at her with a smile. "I like how you think." He pointed over at the dock and a dock house just over the water. "There are two motorboats in the dock house. Anyone here know how to pilot a boat?"

One of the Gardeners raised her hand. "I do."

"Good." He handed one of his rifles to the Captain. "Send her and four other members of your team with me. We'll handle the boats. Drive the Stone Coats as far into the water as you can. These are MC&D special issues. The one you're holding is already charged and it fires like your standard hunting rifle. You won't have a kick from it, but you will have a vibration running through your arms. Keep that in mind when you aim. Your first shot is going to be off while you adjust. Once adjusted, aim for the legs."

The Captain nodded and looked over her team. She counted off four. "You four head with them. The rest you with Iris and I."

King pointed to the near tree. "See those red marks? Following those will take you on a straight path to the dam. Avoid actually walking on the dam. That hole is likely to have made it unstable and you'll end up being carried off and drowning if it breaks underneath you."

"Got it."

The team split up, Iris following the Captain as they made a beeline for the dam.

Iris waved for the Gardeners attention. "Watch out for Able when we get close! He's not careful about anything in his blood circle and he won't care if he kills a teammate."

One of the Gardeners snorted. "So whose bright idea was it to put a keter class skip on a task force?"

"The same guy who thought it'd be a good idea to put a teen photographer on one."

"I can't say much for Able, but you're working out great. How good are you with a gun?"

Iris smiled. "Top of the leaderboard!"

Another of the Gardeners pointed at Iris. "Can we put in a transfer request for Iris to join us?"

The Captain looked at Iris. "Let's get out of this first, then we'll talk. Still not comfortable with you being a teenager."

"I'm not comfortable being a Skip."

"Fair enough. Get to your team. Everyone else, spread out and drive the Stone Coats back!"

Iris headed for Adrian and Beatrix. Beats tossed her ammo.

Iris loaded her gun. "We need to keep them in the water and drive them back as far as possible. The Gardeners are coming around with boats to drag the Stone Coats to the deep end and drown them." She stared down at the gun in her hands. "This is not going to cut it. Captain! Permission to grab something heavier from the cache?"

Squire grunted as reloaded. "Granted."

Adrian cupped his hands around his mouth. "Everyone! Don't let them out of the water! Keep them in the lake and drive them deeper into it!"

"Why aren't they attempting to run for it?" Noah gritted.

Squire frowned. "I think they're stuck in place. The big guy's definitely fighting something as it tries to walk and it's not Able."

Captain Roth came up next to Beats with the rifle. Her first shot went wide, but had her frozen. "Holy shit! This is a plasma rifle!" She stared at the weapon in her hands. "Since when did MC&D have this kind of firepower?"

Beats stared at her. "Where'd you get that?"

The Captain continued to stare at the weapon. "The camp caretaker."

Adrian sputtered, "Why would a camp caretaker have that?!"

"He mentioned his employers… I think this is an MC&D property." She looked over her shoulder at another Gardener. "What's the status on this place from command?"

"I've got nothing! It looks like we can't get a message out, even on satellite."

Adrian reloaded. "That's consistent with other MC&D properties. They like to keep things heavily locked down for security."

"Remember what the caretaker said: Aim for the legs." Iris reached into a photo and pulled out a .50-caliber rifle, setting up quickly.

A Gardener looked over at her while reloading his gun. "You sure you can handle that? Because I'm pretty sure you're 120lbs soaking wet."

Iris laid down on the embankment. "I can handle it." She lifted her head over the scope for a moment before settling down and lining up her shot. "Here come the boats."

Captain Roth brought the plasma rifle back up. "Then let's keep these guys focused on us."

She fired, hitting the left leg of the Stone Coat protecting the smaller two. The leg dissolved, the water around it evaporating as the thing howled in pain and fell forward. When one of the six footers attempted help the one protecting it, Iris caught it in the shoulder, sending it backwards. Beatrix aimed for the big guy, and threaded the needle on a shot that went right past Able's ear to hit the Stone Coat directly in the throat. The shot wasn't enough to hurt it, but forced it to take a step back into the range of the Gardners on the motorboats, who roped it and dragged it backward toward the middle of the lake.

The creature thrashed, screaming as it lost its footing, vines wrapped around its ankles as it kicked, head bobbing up and down out of the water before sinking completely. Dropping the ropes, the motorboats swung back, roping one of the six footers, and dragging it backward. Able leapt at the 'mother,' shoving it under the water as vines crawled up its arms. The fourth one made a run for it pulling against the vines wrapped around its ankles, looking to get to the trees at the edge of the lake. Several vines shot out of the lake, grabbing it around the shoulders, and pulled it under the water's surface.

Noah nearly dropped his gun. "What the hell was that?!"

"Was that your friend?" Adrian asked.

Iris flinched. "I really hope she's my friend."

Captain Roth gestured toward the lake. "The Stone Coats were wrapped up in the vines. It's why they couldn't run from us." She frowned.

Able came up out of the lake, squeezing water out of his hair as he walked casually for shore. Squire began directing members of the team to gather the remains of dead team members and pack them up for transport. The motorboats came around to the dam, cutting the engines as they got to the embankment.

King jumped from his boat. "Nice work."

Beatrix motioned to the lake. "Are you the caretaker?"

"I am."

"So you knew about the Stone Coats."

"Yeah." He snorted. "Good work letting them out."

Iris paused in the middle of dismantling her gun. "How about the Girl Scout made of vines?"

"Girl Scout? Is that what she pulled?" King turned toward the lake. "It's not a Girl Scout camp anymore, Elobae. We've been over this."

A voice like a million heavy chimes ringing darkly floated from the trees on the right. "I am aware. I chose a form based on what I thought the child would be most comfortable seeing."

King turned to the large oak that stood next to the embankment and looked up at a green woman so beautiful as to be alien. Long, hair like vines fell from her head, swinging from the branches. Two of her six arms helped her to remain upright on the tree branch while the long, snake body that ran down from her waist wrapped around the tree's trunk, disappearing into it with a natural camouflage.

Adrian openly stared. "A naga? Nagas exist?"

Elobae shook her head, vines swishing in the air. "No. We are not of this world. We came here after the Sarkic cults ravaged our home dimension. Your Foundation made several, very binding agreements with my people in exchange for our knowledge of the Sarkic Cults and the technologies we developed to fight them."

"And you just happen to be at a Girl Scout camp?"

King jerked a thumb at her. "She's the camp guardian. There's one at every Girl Scout camp founded before 1954. That was part of the deal."

Able elbowed Iris.

Iris gasped and smiled. "Would that deal have been because Juliette Gordon Low was a member of 05 Council and all the camps from that time were designed to contain ancient evils the Native Americans once fought, and now you're having trouble dealing with whatever is contained on the camps because Girl Scouts is selling off the camps?"

Elobae sat up, which had the effect of lifting her up bodily like a puppet on a stick. "Actually, yes. That is the case."

"Yes!" Iris and Able high fived.

Noah pulled out the betting wallet. "God dammit." He handed the money to Iris.

Captain Roth frowned. "This is going to be a mess to clean up. We need to get the bodies out of the lake, catalog and contain a previously unknown Skip, and register two new Persons of Interest."

King snorted. "What you need to do is leave so I can start making calls to have the dam fixed, the lake trawled for the Stone Coats, and give my family the all clear."

"Your wife, and possibly you as well, are members of the Serpent's Hand." Captain Roth gestured to the rifle in her hands. "And this is an insane piece of equipment."

Several vines reached down from the tree and plucked the rifle from the Captain's hands. "Items borrowed from the camp must be left on camp property."

King chuckled. "My wife is Hand. I'm with Marshall, Carter, and Dark. And I'll thank you to get off of MC&D property."

Noah jerked a thumb at the camp. "Really? Because this is not all that posh for an MC&D property."

"Some of our clients actually enjoy real camping. Now you folks are already going to have problems with the GOC over this, and while Marshall, Carter, and Dark will be happy to look the other way as a thank you for the help, you don't want to be messing with the Hand just as the Foundation has been working out the kinks in their 'relationship' via Sigma-3." He adjusted the setting on his rifle before pointing it at the group. "Skedaddle."

Able huffed. "I'm bored, there's nothing left worth fighting, and Iris and I need to pick up an Amazon gift card at the nearest box store. Let's go." He gestured for Omega-7 to follow and turned to leave.

Captain Roth frowned and waved for Theta-4 to follow her out.

Iris paused for a moment, looking up into the tree. "May I ask you a question?"

The vines swayed in an interested way. "Of course."

"If the Coalition was here to help you, why did you kill two of them?"

"You were identified as a Katie and one they saw as useful. I didn't know what their ultimate intentions were for you, so it was easier to let them walk out of the containment circle and end them than take the risk that you might end up in a worse way."

Iris thought about that for a moment. "Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome, child."

Iris turned and ran to catch up with the rest of Omega-7.

Noah helped Iris into the van. "So what do two Skips spend money on?"

"Textbooks. Remember what I said about not getting an actual education?"

Able nodded as he sat down, hunched over as if going to sleep. "She's finally catching up."


End file.
